Acknowledging that it has been slow to react to growing worries about microbeads in personal care and household products, Tesco announced it will phase them out from all its own brand products before year-end. Ten of its personal care products and 10 household products will be affected. Tesco claims it is responding to growing consumer concerns over long-term environmental impact that microbeads have in oceans and ecosystems generally. It is encouraging suppliers to use natural alternatives, such as ground coconut shells that can be effective in face scrubs, or removing microbeads entirely. UK ministers indicate that microbeads (actually tiny pieces of plastic) will be banned from personal care products by the end of 2017. It is currently unclear if other categories will be affected. [ Image credit (C) Tesco plc ]